‘Druglocks’ in appeal to end jail term in SA

[caption id="attachment_94704" align="alignright" width="300"] ARREST DRAMA: Screen grabs from a
Thai television station show Nolubabalo
Nobanda’s dreadlocks, in which 1.5kg
of cocaine were hidden[/caption]

Petition launched from Thailand for SA traffickers to be included in transfers

DESPERATE appeals to be transferred from Thailand jails to prisons nearer their homes in South Africa – in one case close to Port Elizabeth – have been made by convicted drug runners.

“My plea is that I may find mercy from my fellow countrymen in the way of a treaty or prisoner transfer agreement being put in place between Thailand and South Africa,” Nolubabalo “Druglocks” Nobanda, originally from Grahamstown, wrote.

Nobanda was arrested at an airport in Thailand on December 11 2011 after she was found to have concealed narcotics in her dreadlocks.

Aged 23 at the time, Nobanda – who was subsequently dubbed “Druglocks” by the media – was recruited as a drug mule from a house in Central, Port Elizabeth.

Her full letter, along with the pleas of 10 compatriots also jailed in Thailand, are part of a broader appeal and petition to the South African government to enter prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) for the prisoners to be repatriated to South Africa so they can serve the remainder of their sentences closer to their families.

Nobanda said: “By no means am I wanting to escape the consequences of my actions, but rather I am appealing to serve the remainder of my sentence in my country, closer to my family.”

The appeal – which is in the form of an “Open Letter to the Honourable Members of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa” – is being headed by Thailand-based Dr Henk Vanstaen, who has been assisting prisoners there for many years.

Vanstaen says in the letter: “Recently, the Thai government extended an invitation to all embassies who have citizens incarcerated in Thailand to enter into a PTA.

“The 11 South Africans incarcerated in Thailand are not sure if the embassy has informed you of this opportunity.

“If not, we have undertaken to petition you to request the South African government to enter into these negotiations.

“To date, 37 countries have already accepted this invitation . . .”

-Shaun Gillham